NCAA Moves to Add a Flag Football Championship

A key NCAA committee has endorsed making flag football an official championship sport. If the measure passes the next voting hurdle, the first national championship could be held as soon as spring 2028.

The NCAA Committee on Access, Opportunity, and Impact formally voted on Tuesday to recommend including the sport at its spring meeting. That doesn’t make flag football official yet, however.

All athletic divisions, Divisions I, II, and III, would have to endorse the creation of a championship at each of their levels. The next major stop on the road to becoming a full-fledged collegiate sport will be when the proposal gets discussed at the 2026 NCAA Convention this summer.

“Women’s flag football is experiencing extraordinary growth at the collegiate level, and this recommendation is another major step toward achieving NCAA championship status,” said RCX Sports Founder Izell Reese, who petitioned along with USA Football to have flag football join the Emerging